Actress beats thousands of hopefuls to win movie role

8:30am Monday 9th December 2013 in News

By Emma Harrison, Reporter covering Rose Hill, Littlemore and Iffley. Contact me on 01865 425430

Florence Pugh, left, as Abbie pictured with Maisie Williams, as Lydia, in a scene from the film

SHE was discovered from among thousands of schoolgirls across the country.

Now 17-year-old Florence Pugh, from Oxford, is set to appear next year on the silver screen, acting in a major role opposite Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams in The Falling.

Greta Scacchi, star of The Player and Presumed Innocent, and Maxine Peake from Shameless will also star in the BBC Films production, which will be directed by BAFTA-nominated Carol Morley.

This is the first film for the Oxford teenager, who goes to St Edward’s School in Woodstock Road.

Florence told the Oxford Mail: “Due to such a widespread casting call to girls and schools across the country, I was particularly thrilled to find I would be acting alongside Maisie Williams, Maxine Peake and Gretta Scacchi.

“When reading the script, I knew from the beginning the character was going to be hugely challenging.”

The Falling tells the story of Lydia, played by Maisie Williams, who wants to discover the cause of a mysterious fainting epidemic at her all-girls school in 1969.

Florence plays her best friend Abbie.

The movie is written and directed by Carol Morley and filming finished on Monday.

Florence said: “Filming with Carol Morley has been an incredible experience from day one. I am so lucky to have been working with Agnes Godard, who is the cinematographer.

“During the shoot, some of the work has been both physically and emotionally draining, but I have been loving every second.

“My future ambition is to work as an actor and singer on screen and theatre. I am lucky enough in The Falling to do both.”

Florence is in The Falling with younger sister Rafaela, 10, who plays her younger sister.

Their brother Toby Sebastian, 21, is already making a name for himself in Hollywood and will be appearing in the comedy Barely Lethal next year alongside heavyweights Samuel L Jackson and Jessica Alba and Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner.

Florence added: “The family have always been involved in performing from a young age and so it’s great to see that we are all actually doing it as a career.

“What’s strange is that Toby received his part within the same week, also acting alongside another Game of Thrones star, Sophie Turner. We both sing, both play guitar and act in films.

“Although my younger sister is in the film, funnily enough playing my younger sister, I don’t get to act with her.”

Dad Clinton Pugh said: “It is very exciting. It is wonderful.”

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Youngster meets One Direction

6:27pm Monday 16th December 2013 in News

Youngster meets One Direction

Four members of the boy band One Direction (left to right) Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson with fan Charlotte Hedderley from Southend, at the children’s charity Rays of Sunshine showing of the bands film This is Us at Cineworld Wembley in London, as sick children get the chance to meet their heroes and win tickets for their concerts next year.

Young children who have had to battle cancer and other illnesses received the thrill of their lives when boy band One Direction dropped in on them while they were watching a movie about the pop stars.

The Rays of Sunshine Children’s Charity granted the wishes of dozens of children whose dream was to meet the world famous group.

The children and their families were provided transport to Wembley in London where they were watching One Direction’s This Is Us film before group members Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson interrupted by entering the cinema with torches.

The welcome intrusion set off screams of delight from the crowd.

The band’s fifth member, Zayn Malik, did not attend because he was ill.

But the audience was thrilled nonetheless, with the four who did attend treating the crowd to acoustic versions of some of their hit songs, including their most famous hit What Makes You Beautiful.

The boys also answered questions from the crowd in between performances.

“You can ask anything you like – passwords, credit cards, phone numbers,” Styles quipped.
But the questions from the young audience were a lot more innocent, ranging from asking what the artists’ favourite colours were to what they wanted for Christmas and whether they owned any pets.

A little boy from the crowd was even allowed to go up and take Malik’s empty seat after confessing he wanted to tour with the band.

Ellie Gabriel could barely contain her excitement when she spoke of her favourite moment.
“Harry hugged me,” she squealed.

Emily Simpson was unable to hold back tears when she spoke of how much the visit meant to her.

The youngster from Stockton-on-Tees suffered a stroke and made a wish to the charity to see the band.

“I like them all,” she said. “I got to hug all of them.”

Her mother Caroline Simpson said the charity’s support had helped the family cope with Emily’s medical dramas.

“It means the world to us,” she said. “We wouldn’t have done this for a start.
“We just appreciate everything they’ve done for us.”

The children were all given a signed One Direction shirt, a watch, and two tickets to their 2014 tour to remember the momentous occasion.

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Some names just catch your eye.

If you’ve got even just the minimum of awareness of the history of Formula 1, the name “Senna” is guaranteed to grab your eyeballs and hold your attention. Since F1 is one of the world’s most popular sports, perhaps that’s what Spire is counting on when it gave its latest mATX chassis, which bears the oh-so-exciting part number SP3601B-420WPFC22-U3, the codename “Senna.”

The mATX chassis known as Senna measures 40.5cm x 19cm x 34cm and weighs 3.9kg. Built out of 0.4mm SPCC steel, it’s designed to be compact yet spacious enough to host a well-endowed mATX system, and durable enough to withstand typical impacts.

Its front face is meshed for optimum cooling. It also has two 5.25″ optical drive bays as well as four USB ports (3x USB 3.0, 1x USB 2.0), along with HD/AC97 audio ports. Senna is also styled to impress, with the aforementioned meshed front face and muscular bulges on both side panels. The left side panel, by the way, can host a 120mm fan.

Speaking of fans, Senna can accommodate up to three fans: One in the front intake, one in the aforementioned side panel, and one in the usual rear exhaust position. Out of the box, Senna has a 120mm fan in both the side panel and at the rear exhaust.

Although Spire classifies Senna as a mATX case, ATX mainboards can still be installed in it. Mini ITX motherboards are also compatible with Senna.

Senna comes with a 420W power supply unit, so it’s all ready to host your next PC.

Spire says Senna is available now in most regions, although Europe will have to wait until the beginning of January 2014. MSRP is $54.99.

Roy Hodgson would be willing to stake money on England winning the World Cup.

England fans across the country will be crossing their fingers on Friday when the World Cup draw takes place in the Brazilian city of Salvador.

Due to a change in the format, England could be pitted into a ‘group of death’ containing Brazil, Italy and the United States.

Should lady luck favour England, manager Hodgson might be handed a more accommodating pool featuring Switzerland, Honduras and Algeria.

There are many who think England stand no chance of going all the way regardless of the calibre of their opponents. But Hodgson is not one of them.

FIFA rules dictate that Hodgson, unlike a large number of the English population, cannot put a wager on next summer’s tournament.

But if he could, he would place his money on the Three Lions.

“I’d put it on England,” Hodgson said when asked where he would place a £10 bet if he could.

“I’d have a chance of losing it on Brazil so why not put it on the team I want to win it?

“We all know the result everybody wants and that’s to repeat 1966. We all know that’s not going to be easy but it’s great to be there trying to do it.”

Given that England are priced at 28-1 in some places, he would make a handsome return.

Although some will raise eyebrows at his comments, Hodgson seems bullish about England’s chances of at least putting on a good show in Brazil next summer.

The tense coach that stood on the edge of his technical area biting his fingernails during England’s final qualifier against Poland has been replaced by a much calmer figure.

Wearing a pair of aviator shades that would have not looked out of place in the movie Top Gun, Hodgson calmly chatted about England’s hopes and dreams at a poolside table a few metres away from Vicente Del Bosque and the rest of the delegation from Spain.

The England boss does not seem to care about the prospect of being thrown into a nightmare group.

“We’ll try and win every game whether we’re in a tough group or a so-called easy group,” Hodgson said.

“We won’t regard any group as easy. We’ll respect all of our opponents.

“We won’t fear anybody and in the same way we will respect everybody. I think the players will be desperate to do well and go as far in the tournament as they possibly can.”

Hodgson has been in this situation before, of course, as he coached Switzerland in USA 94.

But there is no doubt that this means so much more to him.

“When we line up and the national anthem plays before the first game it will be the proudest moment of my life,” Hodgson said.

“I think that’s how we all feel. This should be the pinnacle of a coach’s career and his ambitions.

“It’s not an easy job, that’s been documented throughout the years, but it’s an honour to have it.”

There may be six months until the start of the World Cup, but FIFA has done its best to ramp up interest in the tournament this week.

A week-long procession of press conferences and sponsor events has been organised and no expense has been spared in putting officials, coaches and the media in plush five-star hotels around the draw venue.

Hodgson has only been in Salvador for two days, but the enormity of the task in hand has hit him square in the face.

“It’s such a big occasion,” Hodgson said.

“You know the World Cup is big but being here brings it home to me even more.”

Such is the pomp of the draw, which begins at 4pm, that a host of former stars will feature.

Sir Geoff Hurst, the 1966 World Cup final hat-trick hero, will represent England. He will be joined on stage by the likes of Lothar Matthaus, Zinedine Zidane, Mario Kempes and Fabio Cannavaro.

Hodgson will also have a big supporting cast next summer.

He had a handful of helpers during USA 94, but a 25-strong team will assist the England manager in Brazil.

One of them will be new head of performance services Dave Reddin.

Reddin, who helped England win the 2003 rugby union World Cup, will help England try to deal with the pressure of performing on the biggest stage in international football and he may bring reinforcements with him.

“I’d like to think he will come with us and contribute a lot,” Hodgson said of Reddin, who was a psychological coach with Team GB during the Olympics.

“He might also want to bring one or two other people, as he did in the Olympics, who can help us in other areas.”

Netflix House of Cards

From single digits to trillions, the tech industry loves numbers, and it generated plenty of them in 2013. Here’s a look at some of the figures that stand out from the year:

3 – number of Emmy TV awards won by Netflix in 2013. “House of Cards” won for best director, marking the first major Emmy win for Internet content. The show also won awards for best casting and best cinematography for a single-camera series.

500 million – number of lines of code behind the beleaguered Healthcare.gov website. Programmers spent most of October and November debugging and rewriting the code to get the site up to speed.

143,199 – number of tweets sent in the single second after the phrase “balus” was uttered during the Japanese TV screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s animated movie “Castle in the Sky.” Fans arranged to mass-tweet the phrase for no particular reason, leading to the creation of the new Twitter record at 11:21.50 p.m. local time on Aug. 3.

116.7 million – number of searches performed through the anonymous search site DuckDuckGo in September. In May, before the first news reports about U.S. National Security Agency surveillance and spying were published, the site handled 54.4 million searches, less than half as many.

4 – number of shots prosecutors allege Ronnie Collins fired at Ikenna Uwakah, who was trying to sell a PlayStation 4 in San Francisco via a posting on Instagram. Uwakah died of his injuries soon after and Collins has been charged with murder.

50,000 – number of additional H-1B visas that would be available to U.S. companies for skilled workers under the proposed Immigration Innovation Act, which was introduced into the U.S. Senate in January. The current limit is 65,000, which high-tech companies say is too few and thus hurts business and innovation.

152 million – number of user records, including emails and poorly encrypted passwords, exposed in a breach of Adobe Systems’ computers this year. It’s been called the largest publicly known leak of user information in history.

7 – approximate number of hours that passed between Twitter launching its Vine app and Facebook blocking the app from its servers. Vine users were briefly able to use their Facebook accounts to find friends on the new video app, something Facebook didn’t like

14,000 – number of computers on which New York-based online gaming company E-Sports Entertainment was accused of installing secret bitcoin mining software. The company agreed to pay US$325,000 and submit to a 10-year compliance program as part of a settlement with the New Jersey attorney general’s office.

60 million – amount of money, in U.S. dollars, Apple has spent so far pursuing a lawsuit against Samsung in California over smartphone patent infringement. The case is one of two in the state and one of several worldwide between the companies, so the total legal bill is much higher.

35 – number of years Chelsea Manning (born Bradley Manning) was sentenced to jail by a military court for leaking U.S. military and diplomatic secrets to Wikileaks. She is eligible for parole in eight years and had been facing up to 90 years in jail.

34,000 – number of jobs HP expects to have eliminated by the end of its current fiscal year, which ends next October, under a cost-cutting program started last May.

162 – minimum fine, in U.S. dollars, that San Diego resident Cecilia Abadie can expect to pay if convicted of driving while wearing Google Glass. The case, apparently the first in the U.S. to involve the technology, will go to court in January. Abadie was initially stopped for speeding and then accused of breaking state vehicle code 27602, which bans TVs and video screens in front of the driver.

41 – percentage of YouTube traffic that now comes from mobile phones and tablets. CEO Larry Page revealed the number in October and said the comparable figure from 2011 was just 6 percent.

25,000 – average data rate, in bits per second, of Nextel’s iDEN cellular network, which was shut down at the end of June. The network was launched in 1996 and Sprint had been warning users for more than a year that it would be switched off. The Nextel name faded into obscurity with the network.

3 – number of surviving Pink Floyd members who signed an editorial in USA Today in June against the Internet Radio Fairness Act. The band claims the bill would cut by 85 percent the amount of money musicians receive from services such as Pandora. Pandora had been backing the bill, but reports in November said it had given up hope of pushing it through.

5 billion – number of cellphone calling records collected by the NSA as part of a location and data tracking system, according to The Washington Post. Details of the program were among the many documents leaked by former defense contractor Edward Snowden to news organizations in 2013.

13.88 – price per share, in U.S. dollars, that Michael Dell paid to take his namesake computer company private. The total deal cost the Dell founder and his financial partners roughly $25 billion and relieved the company of constant pressure to please Wall Street investors.

600,000 – number of bitcoins the FBI estimates are owned by Ross Ulbricht, the alleged mastermind of online drug marketplace the Silk Road. The bitcoins, which are encrypted and cannot be easily accessed, are worth around $60 million and represent around 5 percent of the entire market.

57 million – number of Twitter shares co-founder Evan Williams owned at the time the company went public in October. They are currently worth about $2.8 billion.

Martyn Williams covers mobile telecoms, Silicon Valley and general technology breaking news for The IDG News Service. Follow Martyn on Twitter at @martyn_williams. Martyn’s e-mail address is martyn_williams@idg.com

PlayStation 4 (PS4) vs Xbox One: Should you side with Sony or Microsoft in consoles battle this Christmas?

11:59am Wednesday 20th November 2013 in News

By Simon Bull

Sony and Microsoft are going head to head with their next-generation consoles, the PS4 and Xbox One

FORGET X factor vs Strictly or Quality Street vs Roses, there’s only one important head-to-head this winter – PlayStation 4 vs Xbox One.

Sony and Microsoft are both launching their next-generation consoles this month, the Xbox One going first this Friday (Nov22) and the PS4 following a week later.

The battle between the tech giants for consumers’ hearts, minds and – most importantly money – is set to be colossal.

Which console will be the best and which should you buy?

Unhelpfully, opinion among industry experts seems to be split just about right down the middle so far.

Some of those lucky enough to have got their hands on the new entertainment and games machines have praised the PS4 for having its nose in front on power and performance, saying some games could look better and run smoother on Sony’s kit than Microsoft’s.

Others, however, have poured cold water on the idea this will be a huge difference in reality, with developers creating most games to work across both platforms and these are likely to look almost identical from one to the other. It may be that exclusive games on PS4 are marginally better looking than Xbox-only titles, but without direct comparison being possible it’s not going to be easily verifiable.

What’s for sure is both consoles come with similarly beefy hardware which represents a major step up in quality from each of their predecessors.

In other areas there is a win-some-lose-some pattern to the views from the specialists.

For instance, Microsoft’s roster of exclusive launch titles (including Forza Motorsport 5 and Ryse: Son of Rome) is causing more of a stir than Sony’s equivalent, but at the same time Sony has been given credit for the PS4 being likely to offer a better selection of quirkier indie games.

It’s heavily dependent on personal preference of course, but the PS4’s controller seems to have been very slightly better received than the Xbox’s, but another accessory – the motion-tracking camera – is seen as better on Microsoft’s machine than Sony’s.

The Xbox One will be quite a lot more expensive than the PS4 (£430 to £350), the reason for this being that it comes packaged with the higher-resolution body-movement Kinect device.

Microsoft’s console is being billed as the better option for people looking for an all-round entertainment system, owing to its integration with satellite and cable boxes along with what appears to be more of a focus on media consumption beyond just games.

Sony’s machine, meanwhile, is being seen more as a pure games console – and that’s the main reason why I will be going with the PS4 over the Xbox One.

It’s a very close call though as the new Xbox does look to be an extremely impressive system from everything I’ve seen of it so far. I’ve been a dedicated Sony customer for the last 12 years and for me to even consider switching is high praise for Microsoft’s console in itself as I very rarely switch my loyalties from brands I’ve invested in over a long period of time.

When it comes to the crunch of actually deciding which side to pick, I care far less about TV and video functionality or motion and voice control than I do about games capability – and I just feel the PS4 has the edge in this area. It’s open to conjecture of course and will come down to very slim differences but I just reckon the PS4 will offer better breadth and quality of games in the long run, and this for me is why I think Sony will eventually win this console war and is therefore the one to give my allegiance to.

I’ve been a spare-time gamer for about 30 years and an enthusiastic writer on the subject for the past seven or so, but I don’t consider myself to be an authority. So here is a selection of comments from professionals who make a living out of playing with tech which may help with your own decision.

Engadget’s Sean Buckley says: “Sony and Microsoft have left consumers with a tough choice. Both systems promise excellent gaming experiences and new features that push the industry forward.

“On one hand, you have the PlayStation 4 toeing a traditional line of hardcore gaming: It features raw power, social sharing and a controller that’s trying to be more than your typical gamepad.

“Across the aisle, Microsoft’s Xbox One presents a unified hub for all of your media experiences, wrapping them in a highly stylized voice- and motion-controlled dashboard. With great exclusives and tons of multi-platform titles bound for each system, it’s hard to say which console will come out on top.”

The team at Stuff are divided on which console is best.

Online editor Paddy Smith says: “While Sony’s PS4 launch went heavy on gaming benefits, the Xbox One appealed to my sense of media unity. I’d love to bin my six remotes and have just the one. Scratch that – just the none. And while the TV utopia Microsoft’s promising may be a way off perfection, I’m leaning towards its media hub smarts over the PlayStation’s gaming prowess.”

But features editor Mark Wilson says: “Consoles still should still focus primarily on games, and I’m more excited by the PS4’s exclusives (The Witness, Shadow Fall, DriveClub) and its embracing of indie developers.”

The Guardian’s Keith Stuart concludes: “If you want an all-round entertainment beast that will handle all your TV and movie needs as well as playing a very decent selection of games, go for Xbox One. If it’s all about graphical performance and sheer variety of gaming experiences, PlayStation 4 may be the one for you.”

Andrew Williams, of Trusted Reviews, states: “There’s no particular ‘wrong choice’ to be made between the two consoles at present. The PS4 is more powerful but there’s unlikely to be many huge benefits for now, and the Xbox One has a stronger launch line-up.”

Other than the factors mentioned here along with your own brand loyalty and the important issue of which one your (or your kids’) mates might be buying, the best way to answer the questions of which console will be the best and which you should get is to actually spend time with both of them. Get some hands-on time in a shop or at one of the various pre-launch events being held. Get the controllers in your mitts, see what some of the games look like live, check out what else each machine can do – then you’ll get a clear idea of which side you should choose.

With two powerhouses competing for attention, whatever happens during the upcoming battle is likely to only be good for consumers – this is a great time to be a gamer!

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Special tank on loan to Brad Pitt movie set

12:46pm Wednesday 20th November 2013 in News

Brad Pitt

A Second World War tank has been loaned to the makers of the latest Brad Pitt, pictured, movie, which is being filmed in the village of Shirburn.

The Tiger 131, from the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset, is the only one of its kind in the world still in working order and will be used in new war epic Fury.

It was used by the Nazis and could destroy enemy tanks from more than two kilometres away.

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Fan of Danny Dyer? Then get to Canvey

12:00pm Saturday 23rd November 2013 in News

By Chloe Chapman

Fan of Danny Dyer? Then get to Canvey

FANS of badboy film star Danny Dyer will be able to get up close and personal with him when he makes a special visit to Canvey this weekend.

The actor, who is set to join EastEnders on Christmas Day, is holding an intimate questionand- answer session at Moviestarr Cinema, in Eastern Esplanade.

He will be meeting 130 fans and promoting his new action film, Vendetta, which tells the story of interrogation officer who tracks down a gang which slaughtered his own parents.

It is not Danny’s first visit to the island, as he has previously potted some balls with friends at nearby Starr Snooker on a number of occasions.

James Parkin, owner of the Moviestarr Cinema, said: “We have a film booker who sorts out all of our films, because we want to make sure we can show all the latest releases.

“He was offered the chance for Danny to come down to do a question- and-answer session and we jumped at the chance.

“We’re really grateful. I’m lucky enough to have met him before because he’s been down to the snooker club a few times, so maybe he remembers me from that. He is exactly what you see on TV. He’s just a really nice, down-to-earth fella.”

The session is open to 130 fans and tickets are still available.

Danny, who lives in Epping, shot to fame in film Human Traffic back in 1999 and went on to appear in hits including, the Football Factory, Mean Machine and Adulthood.

He filmed scenes last year at Southend Airport for the movie InAHeartbeat. He turned down a part on EastEnders back in 2009, but is set to join the BBC soap after taking on the role of Mick Carter, the new landlord of the Queen Victoria pub.

Mr Parkin added: “As you can imagine, the front rows have already sold out, but usually they are the last ones to go!

“It’s an amazing opportunity to get up close and personal with Danny Dyer. EastEnders fans are going to love it!”

For tickets call 01268 695000 or visit www.moviestarr.uk.com

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“Crowdfunding” hunt launched for movie celebrating heroics of Colchester paras

6:00am Wednesday 4th December 2013 in News

“Crowdfunding” hunt launched for movie celebrating heroics of Colchester paras

A FILMMAKER needs to raise £100,000 to make a movie to celebrate the heroism of Colchester paratroopers.

Kajaki will tell the story of Corporal Mark Wright, 27, of 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, who died trying to save soldiers trapped in a minefield in September, 2006.

Its backers have launched a drive to find people to provide the last £100,000.

Kajaki, billed as a modern war movie, aims to celebrate the heroism of Britain’s forces in Afghanistan.

Director Paul Katis said the film, due to be released next November, would not focus on the wider controversy of the conflict.

He said: “It is about ordinary guys who have to learn to be paras. They suddenly find themselves in Afghanistan where their mettle is tested, and that’s intrinsically interesting.

We know hardly anything about what a soldier’s life is like.”

Mr Katis came up with the idea after shooting a film for the Ministry of Defence of troops leaving for Afghanistan. He read about Cpl Wright, posthumously awarded the George Cross, and contacted his parents, Bob and Jem.

Mr and Mrs Wright, who set up the Mark Wright Project to help rehabilitate injured personnel, put Mr Katis in touch with paras who served with Cpl Wright.

Mr Wright is supporting the film. He said: “It’s going to draw a lot of interest. It will help people see what the conditions they have been living in were like and the dangers they went through. I don’t think people realise what it’s like over there.”

With the backing of Gareth Unwin, the Oscarwinning producer of the King’s Speech, Mr Katis has set up up an enterprise investment scheme to attract most of the funding.

Higher rate taxpayers can secure a tax break by pledging funding towards British movies.

On Saturday, a fundraising drive on indiegogo.com went live, offering gifts depending on how much people donate, with £35 securing a credit on the movie.

Anyone donating £2,500 will be made an associate producer, while £1,500 is enough for a private screening. If Kajaki is a success, the £100,000 donated will go to military charities. More than 50 people had donated £4,100 in the first three days.

For more information, visit www.kajakimovie.com

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LIVE: Reaction to the death of Nelson Mandela

9:20am Friday 6th December 2013 in News

Nelson Mandela died last night at the age of 95

FOLLOW live updates as the world mourns the death of Nelson Mandela at the age of 95.

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6:57pm Fri 6 Dec 13

smithweston

says…

The bloke was a convicted terrorist. Once again, the liberal do gooders are busy whitewashing the bits of history that they do not like.

Nelson Mandela was the head of UmKhonto we Sizwe, (MK), the terrorist wing of the ANC (African National Congress), which was a terrorist organization, and the South African Communist Party. At his trial, he had pleaded guilty to 156 acts of public violence including mobilizing terrorist bombing campaigns, which planted bombs in public places, including the Johannesburg railway station. Many innocent people, including women and children, were killed by Nelson Mandela’s MK terrorists. Here are some highlights

-Church Street West, Pretoria, on the 20 May 1983

-Amanzimtoti Shopping complex KZN, 23 December 1985

-Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court, 17 March 1988

-Durban Pick ‘n Pay shopping complex, 1 September 1986

-Pretoria Sterland movie complex 16 April 1988 – limpet mine killed ANC terrorist M O Maponya instead

-Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, 20 May 1987

-Roodepoort Standard Bank 3 June, 1988

Tellingly, not only did Mandela refuse to renounce violence, Amnesty refused to take his case stating “ movement recorded that it could not give the name of ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ to anyone associated with violence, even though as in ‘conventional warfare’ a degree of restraint may be exercised.”

The bloke was a convicted terrorist. Once again, the liberal do gooders are busy whitewashing the bits of history that they do not like.

Nelson Mandela was the head of UmKhonto we Sizwe, (MK), the terrorist wing of the ANC (African National Congress), which was a terrorist organization, and the South African Communist Party. At his trial, he had pleaded guilty to 156 acts of public violence including mobilizing terrorist bombing campaigns, which planted bombs in public places, including the Johannesburg railway station. Many innocent people, including women and children, were killed by Nelson Mandela’s MK terrorists. Here are some highlights

-Church Street West, Pretoria, on the 20 May 1983

-Amanzimtoti Shopping complex KZN, 23 December 1985

-Krugersdorp Magistrate’s Court, 17 March 1988

-Durban Pick ‘n Pay shopping complex, 1 September 1986

-Pretoria Sterland movie complex 16 April 1988 – limpet mine killed ANC terrorist M O Maponya instead

-Johannesburg Magistrate’s Court, 20 May 1987

-Roodepoort Standard Bank 3 June, 1988

Tellingly, not only did Mandela refuse to renounce violence, Amnesty refused to take his case stating “[the] movement recorded that it could not give the name of ‘Prisoner of Conscience’ to anyone associated with violence, even though as in ‘conventional warfare’ a degree of restraint may be exercised.”
smithweston

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